The DALI Lighting System Explained

At Varming Consulting Engineers Ireland, we are one of the leading mechanical and electrical building services consultancies in the country and in the 70 or so years we have been operating, we have gained a massive amount of experience and expertise in the industry, as well as knowledge of all aspects of the new and emerging technologies that have been incorporated into modern building design.

In recent years, there has been a major focus on sustainable design and there have been countless new concepts and technologies that have come out of it. One of those is the DALI lighting system, which we take a closer look at now.

DALI is an acronym for Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, which represents a 2 way communication system that integrates digital technology into lighting. It is a standard used in construction around the world and it defines the parameters and commands that lighting ballasts use to be deemed as ‘DALI ballasts’.

What is a Lighting Ballast?

Simply put, a lighting ballast is used to regulate current to the light unit and delivers enough voltage needed to start the lamp(s). Without one in place, a light would quickly become overloaded, as the limiting effect of the ballast would not be there, leading to an uncontrollable draw of current.

The DALI system allows these ballasts to communicate with the user via DALI controllers, which are computers that have the right software or manage systems. A command can be sent by the user to manage lighting across the building on a room by room basis from a central point and it offers an efficient, resource and time saving facility, ideal for the modern, sustainably designed building.

It is by using technology such as this, that we are able to achieve the highest industry certifications for our client projects, an example of which can be via this link. This project was completed at the Cuisine de France New Corporate Headquarters and Production Facility in Dublin and featured the very same DALI system described above.

This technology is just one of many used in our day to day work across Ireland.

If you would like to know more about the sustainable design methods and techniques employed by our expert team of electrical and mechanical engineers, you can do so by visiting our website www.varming.ie

Alternatively, for guidance, advice for a chat with one of our team, call our Dublin office now on 01 4872300.